Key Elements of Trump’s Declaration of a National Emergency

Allison Edwards

With at least 16 states suing to stop President Trump’s emergency declaration on Friday, AAF’s Director of Fiscal Policy Gordon Gray outlines the statutory basis and policy implications of this avenue for funding a border wall.

An excerpt:

Essentially, the president has militarized his southern border policy, and federal law provides the president with unique authorities over military matters. According to the White House, this authority will allow the president to repurpose $3.6 billion of funding provided by Congress for Military Construction (MilCon) projects. For context, this sum would constitute over one-third of the $10.3 billion MilCon funding enacted for FY2019.